Safety razor



March 7, 1944. N. TEST] SAFETY RAZOR Filed May 26, 1945 INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 7, 1944 SAFETY RAZOR Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., at corporation of Delaware Application May 26, 1943, Serial No. 488,571

Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors of the type in which a thin flexible blade is clamped for shaving between co-operating supporting members and consists in an improved construction whereby a blade having a protective envelope or wrapper may be presented to the razor in its final shaving position and temporarily held to afford the user an opportunity of removing the it safely in its shaving position without damage to its edge. The present invention deals with blades of a type which may be protected at the time of manufacture by being enclosed in a paper wrapper. This wrapper overlaps and safeguards the sharp edge or edges of the razor blade and must be removed to make the edge accessible for shaving. 'We contemplate a safety razor so organized that the wrapped blade may be delivered directly thereto in its final shaving position and temporarily held as thus positioned while the user has only to strip the wrapper from the blade and withdraw it from the razor, all this being effected without danger and even without the possibility of touching the keen cutting edge of the blade. I

The construction of my invention is such that the elements which have been heretofore found regularly in safety razors and with which the public is entirely familiar may be utilized by suitable modification and addition to perform the function of temporarily holding and releasing the blade independently of the clamping movement of the razor parts. To this end an important feature of the invention consists in providing in a safety razor a projecting detent upon one of the blade-clamping members and spring means operating to bow a blade when once located in shaving position into interlocking engagement with such projection, that is to say, the blade may be presented in substantially flat condition, then, as a preliminary step, bowed into engagement with the detent and so held or anchored against longitudinal movement while the user withdraws the blade wrapper. Subsequently, the

blade-clamping step is carried out in the usual manner as is also the unclamping step. Conven-' ient means are provided in or adjacent to the handle of the razor for releasing the blade from its bowing stress, thereby allowing it to re-assume its fiat condition and disengage the detent so that it is free for removal from the razor.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of the razor in side elevation, partly in section, showing a blade as presented;

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the cap in its position of preliminary engagement;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the cap in its fully clamped position;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the guard with a blade in position thereon, a portion of the blade being shown as broken away; and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the cap as seen from beneath.

The razor selected for illustration is of the Gillette type although the invention is not restricted to that, or to any other particular type of razor. As herein shown, however. the razor comprises a guard member H! which is generally rectangular in contour and slotted at each side to define solid downwardly and outwardly extending guard bars II. The guard has a fiat blade-supporting face bounded by parallel fulcrum shoulders and is permanently fixed upon the hollow head [2 of the handle. The latter includes also a barrel or shell I 3. The guard has a circular recess M in its upper face disposed centrally near its left-hand and as seen in Fig. 4 to receive the detent to be hereinafter described.

Co-operating with the guard is a cap member [5 which is similar in outline to the guard but slightly narrower. It is provided with an inner con-cave face which, in engaging a blade, tends to flex it transversely or bow it over the fulcrum shoulders of the guard. It has also a longitudinal blade-locating rib I6 which near its left end, as seen in Fig. 5, is provided with a solid cylindrical detent H. The rib I6 is permanently connected through a short fiat shank to the upper end of a spindle I8. The spindle I8 is received within the chamber provided by the barrel l3 of the handle. The end of the barrel I3 is closed by a cylindrical shouldered nut I9 having a threaded connection with the lower end of the spindle l8. A compression spring 20 encircles the spindle I8 bearing against the inner end of the nut l9 and tending at all times to depress it together with the spindle l8 and the cap IS. A limit screw 2| is located in the end of the spindle 20 and fits freely in the bore of the nut IS.

The blade 30 herein shown is a flexible, doubleedged blade of the commercial Gillette type having its corners recessed to define elongated unsharpened end portions and having a central slot- 3| which is open at one end and widens out at spaced intervals into apertures 32 and 33. The blade is presented endwise to the razor, the slot 3| receiving the rib l6 of the cap and when fully in shaving position the detent I1 registers with the aperture 32 of the blade. 1

The action of the spring 20 upon the inner n en d of the handle [9 transmitted through the spindle I8 is to hold the cap I 5 yielding lyl-andwith moderate pressure against the guard. This may 'be relieved and the cap lifted to clear the guard by pressing inwardly upon the end of the-handle l9 and this the user may effect very conveniently by holding the handle between two fingers and push- .ing the nut with his thumb until the, shoulder f the nut contacts .withthe-endof the; barrel. [3 as suggested in ,Fig. -1. :When ,this occurs the cap clears the blade-supporting face ofthe guard so that asiotted bladeflltmay be pushed ingendwise,

. straddling the rib 5,6;and the shank connecting it to the spindle t3. The-bladeis stopped-jlnits shaving. positionwhen the solid end ofthe, blade encounters the .endvof the rib tfinand when this occurs, as already intimatedthe .recess, 32' of the blade lies opposite the detent H.

"The user maynowrelease pressure iponthe handle l9.andlallowlthespringlo ,to seat. the ;cap upon the blade as suggested in;Fig.12. 'When this occurs theblade is immediately bowed overthe fulcrum shoulders of the guard and into engagementwiththe :detent N, that is to sa-Y, the

--bowedblade makes interlocking engagementwith the detent and is thus anchoredlagainst,longitudinal movement. While the-.tbladecis soyheld;

the operator may strip a wrapper fromthe blade by pulling t on in an endwise direction. -Subseduently," the cap l5 may --be :mov.ed positively downward into clamping engagement with. the blade by rotating the nut sectionl 9 of the'handle.

This is the condition of the ra-zor'showniniFigfi,

the spindle it having been drawn down by. the amount which the head of the limit screwisaseparated from'the bottom of the bore of the-nut l9.

The interlocking engagement of the blade and cap is not affected in any way by the'clamping ,operationand the detent ll enters the recess 14 of the guard withclearance.

At the conclusion of the shaving operation the nut maybe rotated reversely, releasing positive ,pressure on the blade and allgwing the -spring -23 to maintainlonly bowing stress therein, again as suggestedby Fig. 2. Finally-whenthe operator desires to remove the blade he may again release it.by, pressing the nut lilupwardly 1against the compression of the spring ;2 il, whereupon the ,blade is freeda'nd may be ,withdrawnf from the razor orpermitted ;t o ,fallby, gravity ifu the razor is held on end.

-A portion. 0f the blade wrapper, 34 is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 but is omittecllin theother figures ion-the ,sake of cle arness. It will be understood i that the blades v.rnay, be; dispensed .in

paper wrappersshaped "to; protect the, sharpwedges 'of theblacle but to clearthe slot and apertureslof -;.the blade so that the blade-locating rib ",l a and .detent i l may'functionWithout-pinstruction.

,Having thus disclosed my inventionoand described in, detail one illustrative emb di nentw port a flexible and apertured blade thereon in flat condition, a cap having a concave face movable above't-he guard and a retaining device projecting "from said face',spring means for moving the cap and guardt'og'ether to bow a blade into engage- .ment Iwith said retaining device and thereby anchor it against longitudinal movement, and

positive acting means for further moving the cap -,-to l m the b d 3. A safety ,razor having a blade-supporting ,n ernber shaped to support a flexible and aperf tun bladeinsubstantially flattposition thereon,

.a cooperatingconcave blade-shaping member movable with respect to said \bladesupporting member and having a projecting 'deten't in its face, spring means for moving said members togetherto how a blade into interlockinglenga'gement with said detent, and a handlehaving con ,nections-for seperating said membersfagainst the action of said spring means vQand also connections vfor-positively.clamping said members upon the 4 a A safety raaor having a blade-supporting member..shapedto support a flexible and aperturedgblade in substantially flat position thereon,

. a, e o-operating concave blade-shaping member ,moyablewith respect to" said .bladeesup'porting member; and havinga projecting-detent, {a handle I having a- ,te lescopic section inoy ab lelongitudinally .and rotatably therein, spring'meansfor moving paid members to bo. w.a blade into interlocking nsteema ,w t said-.d n lea ab hy on itudinal' movement ,of said section, and screwe-threaded means operated by rotary lmovement of said handle section for positively, clamping the b ade 15.;A- safety raz or comprising a guard with a flat, bladasupportingil face and parallel fulcrum shoulders, a cap having a 5 concave blade-fi-'Xir 1g f ace, a; projecting' cletent and a threaded shank surrounded by 'a compression -spring, and a handle eharnbered to receive said shank anamouvidedwith arotary section having screw-threaded connection withQthe shank, the spring tending at all ,tirnes;;to move, the cap ,i nto blade-flexing relation to the guard, and to .bow,and interposed apertured and fleab le bladeinto interlocking'en- .-ea ent w h Se v v Y :Hdetent, t e said handleIsec- ;tion.being longitudinally movable to lift the cap againstthe actionlo'fmhe spring and rotatableto lowerathe. capthrough its Lconnection with, the

"-Sh nka 1 1 1 n -393W z -m sm i of b a clamping rnem 's. and flexible blade inserted ,them, a,retainihg device on one of said nielnbers for. engaging the blade. when. transverse- A l bowed betweenfsaidineinbers after being moved ngitudinally' (into. its shaving position, spring limeans for, moving Said, members tov bow the blade a into" such, ,engageinentflwith the retaining, device,

bers movable relatively to clamp or release aslotted blade introduced between them, means on one of said members to retain a flexible and apertured blade when presented in its shaving position, and a spring for closing said members into light engagement with a blade to bow it into engagement with said retaining means preliminary to final clamping of the blade in its shaving position.

8. In a safety razor, the combination with a razor comprising co-operating blade-flexing members, of an apertured flexible blade, a projecting detent on one of said members, and a spring tending at all times to move said members into flexing relation and thereby to bow the blade into interlocking engagement with said detent.

9. A safety razor comprising two co-operative blade-shaping members spring pressed together Cal and having a rib between them and a detent near one end of the rib, and a flexible blade slotted to embrace the rib and having two spaced detentreceiving apertures whereby it may interlock with the detent in shaving position or in a position partially withdrawn from therazor.

10. A safety razor having co-operating bladeshaping members movable together under spring pressure and shaped to bow a flexible blade interposed between them, means on one member for engaging and holding a bowed blade against endwise movement, and a handle connecting said members and having a section movable to cause limited separation of said members and thereby permit the blade to assume a fiat position in which it is released for withdrawal.

NICHOLAS TESTI. 

